Dream Phantom

Chapter Nineteen

"Gladys, I know you're still healing and that you blame me for what happened. We lost a baby. I may not have been carrying her, but that doesn't mean I loved her any less. I just want you to know that I'm hurt too. I'm not making excuses for myself or my behavior. I've been a real ass. I'm sorry. I wish I could take back every idiotic thing I've done. I'm starting over. I wanted you to know that because I hope you'll forgive me someday. However long it takes, I'll be waiting. You're it for me, Gladys Montoya. No one else will do. I love you."

The automated message asking Roberto if he wanted to replay his message clicked on and he ignored it by disconnecting the call. He hadn't talked to Gladys in weeks. For now, leaving a message would be good enough. He was sitting in his car in the parking lot of the police station, trying to motivate himself to enter. He wanted...not he needed...to talk to the captain. Jax had asked for him to come back.

He stared at the notes he had taken about the recent murders. All of the victims had an O carved into their hands. What did it mean?

His phone rang and Roberto saw that it was from Omar. He rejected the call. He didn't need to talk to Omar. He still couldn't exactly remember what happened after he had blacked out and he blamed Omar. Roberto pressed a few buttons on his phone to permanently block Omar from calling him. Roberto was determined to focus on the case until he was Jax's partner again.

As for Omar, he got a strange vibe from him and he definitely didn't trust him.

xxxxXxxxx

The Easy Easel was located downtown and stuck between a tattoo parlor and busy pawn shop. She stepped inside the stark white building and the smell of acrylic paint assaulted her.

"You came!" Omar stretched out his arms, welcoming her into his art studio. There were a few other students there, each standing in front of a blank canvas. It was obvious they were going to paint a basket of fruit which was situated in the middle of the room.

"I hope I'm not late," Dani said slowly, her eyes taking in all of the paintings that hung on the wall. They were mostly surrealist paintings. "Did you paint all of these?"

Omar gave a slight shrug, "I have a lot of free time. Come and sit. We were just going to start a new project. Don't be fooled by the fruit."

Dani smiled at the other students before taking a place in front of a blank canvas.

"As I said, we aren't going to paint the fruit as it is. I want you to paint it in possibilities," Omar instructed. "What if the apple was the king and the grapes were rebels? Or is the banana was a ship? Give the fruit a story and paint it. I don't want a boring piece of art."

A teenager named Travis with a cap that read "DO ME" snickered as he joked that he would paint the fruit as women with the exception of the banana which he claimed would be a part of his male anatomy.

"Don't try too hard, Travis," Omar told him. "That wasn't a pun so stop being a pervert."

Dani stared at the fruit and began painting the fruit as though they were bleeding their own juices. Each piece of fruit was deflating until it was almost nothing. The juices left a puddle of mixed colors on the table and coming forward to lap it up was a wolf with fierce golden eyes.

"Whoa," Travis said from beside Dani as he looked over at her painting, "You're really good. I didn't know we were allowed to add stuff. I'm going to add a bear."

Curious, Omar walked over to Dani's painting and watched her paint. She looked over her shoulder but he didn't say anything to her. He just stared at her painting.

"Is it horrible?" Dani asked.

"Do you think it's horrible?"

"I wouldn't know. I haven't formally taken any art classes, so it's probably really bad, right?"

"I wouldn't say that. You have a good technique. You're a natural but the painting itself is a bit...dark."

She looked at the deflated fruit and the dark background she used, "I guess you're right."

"Our art often reflects our emotions," Omar said softly. "It makes me wonder what you're going through."

"It's seven!" Travis shouted. "Do we leave our paintings here to finish tomorrow?" He was talking to Omar.

Omar broke his stare from Dani and smiled, "Alright everyone, you've done wonderfully today. We meet again tomorrow. I'll see you all then."

Dani slowly began putting away the art supplies she used. Once all the other students were gone, she walked up to Omar, "I still need to pay for the class."

Omar gestured she follow him to the register. He asked, "Are you okay?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your painting makes me think you're going through some things. Like I said, art often reflects our emotions."

"I'm fine. I'm probably a little weird because of my painting but that's because I've had wolves on my mind these days."

"Is that so?" Omar asked, giving her back her credit card.

"Yeah. It's not a big deal."

"You're a good person, Dani," Omar smiled. "I hope nothing happens to you."

Dani felt her blood run cold, "What do you mean by that?"

Omar held out her receipt, "Nothing. I just hope everything works out for you. Will I see you tomorrow?"

Dani gave him a puzzled expression before taking the receipt and nodded, "I just paid for the week so I'll be here."

Omar walked alongside her as she stepped outside the Easy Easel. He turned to her and looked around the building. The neighborhood was deserted, "One of the waitresses at the diner told me about your boss. I'm sorry to hear he's in the hospital."

"It wasn't your fault," Dani said. "Oliver's going to get better. I just know it."

"I'm sure he will. He seemed like a good guy."

"Did you know him?"

Omar shook his head, "Not too well but he was always smiling the few times I saw him. He was always happy. He seemed like a good person."

"He is a good person."

"He was always with you and your husband."

Dani smiled, "Jax? He's definitely a regular there."

Omar walked Dani to her car which was parked less than a block away, "I'm glad you came tonight, Dani. I think the classes will be good for you. You've been through a lot with your mother, the whole Maestro thing, and now Oliver. It'll definitely be good for you."

Dani nodded, "I hope so. Well, I better get going. I'll see you tomorrow."

She waved goodbye before driving away from the Easy Easel. She was a few minutes away from home when Omar's words played back in her head.

"You've been through a lot with your mother, the whole Maestro thing, and now Oliver."

It wasn't common knowledge that she had been involved in the Maestro case and Dani never talked to strangers about how her mother had left her as a child. Perhaps he had found out about Oliver from another waitress. His condition wasn't a secret.

Dani frowned. How had he known all that information about her? 

A/N: Thank you for reading! If you aren't already following me on Twitter or Instagram, you should totally do so! My username for everything social media is SheHopes101.